Speech Coaching: Featured Projects

'His words were falling flat'

Because this executive tended to mumble a bit, his words were running together, making them unintelligible to his audience.

Worse, he was emphasizing the wrong words in key lines, so the speech was not achieving the impact intended.

The stories he was telling were getting lost.

Outcome after coaching:

It was important to begin by modeling how the speech was intended to be delivered. Once the executive heard this, he gradually adopted the proper tone, learned how to emphasize the right words at the right times and discovered the power of the pause.

He improved faster because he practiced even more on his own; this allowed us to focus on only a few remaining trouble spots during our final coaching session.

The more he rehearsed, the better he got. On the big day, he earned a standing ovation for his speech, which he delivered with confidence in front of a national audience.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! And I’m still not sure that I’ve thanked you enough for the fantastic work you did in preparing my welcome remarks for The Salvation Army National Advisory Board meeting. Several attendees – local, national and international – conveyed to me that my remarks were spot on and delivered with conviction. I certainly could have not carried this off without your research, organization, writing, coaching and infinite attention to detail."

TIM KENNER
Kenner & Associates

"Once the speeches were complete, Teresa helped me practice each one until I could deliver them perfectly. I would recommend Teresa at the highest level for her professionalism and quality of work."

CHAD DELLIGATTI
InnoSource

"I deeply appreciate your unfailing support while I was melting down about my speech. Obviously, what you shared with me last week made my stories more clear and compelling. I have never had a standing ovation. It was quite overwhelming!"

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dayton, Ohio

'No vocal variety'

Speech coaching challenge:

This executive had a very low voice and tended to speak in monotone, which made it difficult for him to command and keep the attention of his employees.

Outcome after coaching:

After several sessions, this executive became more intentional in using vocal variety.

After presenting during a live event that was broadcast to employees around the globe, this executive received many accolades from members of his team, who noticed the significant improvement he’d made in his delivery style.

'Fast talker'

Speech coaching challenge:

This high-energy executive had plenty of vocal variety, projection and enthusiasm, but his nerves tended to get the better of him whenever he spoke in public.

So he became a faster and faster talker the deeper he got into his remarks – so he quickly lost his audience.

Outcome after coaching:

After the first coaching session, this executive became keenly aware of his tendency to be a fast talker – something his senior team had been reluctant to share with him.

We began by reformatting his speech manuscript, adding custom notations and cues that reminded him to slow down. During subsequent sessions, we rehearsed the more emotional parts of his speech where he routinely tended to speed up.

In between coaching sessions, he practiced even more on his own. By our final coaching session, he was able to confidently speak at the right pace.

On the big day, he delivered his remarks with ease.

"I just finished my presentation, and it was probably about 100 times better received than the last one. So I just wanted to thank you for all the tips and everything. I certainly feel a WHOLE lot better coming out of this one than I did the last one."

STEVE RUBENSTEIN
Crayons to Classrooms

"In knowing Teresa Zumwald personally as a colleague and friend, I certainly can recommend her as a speechwriter and coach. She has written several dynamic speeches for me. She will prepare you well with a message that will inspire your audience."

JEANNE PORTER, FOUNDER
Women in Business Networking

"You did another excellent job on that speech. You managed to make him look even better. Well done!"

AMY HAYDE
Cambridge Design

Established in 1989, Zumwald & Company, LLC is a woman-owned small business providing speechwriting, speech coaching, executive communications, brand messaging, corporate storytelling, and speaking and training.